Zahn, Timothy Blackcollar 1 The Blackcollar

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."Also, since Calarand is going silent, you won't be able to monitorthe search for the missing blackcollar, Jensen.I'll handle that.""Thanks." Tremayne paused."Speaking of blackcollars, did anyone else notice somethingunusual during the mock attack earlier?"There was a moment of silence."I did," Bakshi said."One of them fell into a slightly differentcombat stance than the others."Tremayne nodded slowly."That's what I thought, too, The Janus report said they were fromPlinry but were operating under Earth auspices.I wonder.""You think the odd man's an Earther?" Dan asked."Could be," Tremayne said."Which raises the question of how he got out past Earth Security."aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr r"Maybe there isn't any," Bakshi suggested."Depending on how hard Earth was hit, there may notbe much there to guard.""Well, there's no profit in speculation." Tremayne shrugged."We'll give them four or five hoursto sleep, but after that I'll want to nail Comsquare Lathe down as to exactly what his credentials are.""And exactly what his business here is," Bakshi added.Tremayne nodded grimly."Especially that."aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rCHAPTER 12"I know I saw something," one of the five Security men puffed as the group came through thenarrow gap and onto the bluff."Like a reflection from metal or glass." He gestured about midway upthe rugged, tree-covered slope ahead."Keep watching," another advised him, shifting his snub-nosed laser rifle uncomfortably as helooked around."And don't forget he's had half an hour to move since you first saw it."Hidden behind a tree a bare ten meters behind them, Jensen raised his assessment of the group anotch or two.Inexpert though they seemed to be at this sort of outdoor work, they were observant; andtheir leader, at least, was no fool.He had no way of knowing, after all, that Jensen had hung that sparebinocular lens on the tree branch over an hour ago, when he'd first spotted the group moving up themountain toward him.The intent had been to lure them into dashing gleefully upslope toward hissupposed position, hopefully without leaving a guard by this key route off of the bluff.He wasbeginning to have his doubts whether this was the right kind of group to fall for that trick, though."There!" the first man exclaimed, pointing."I saw it, too," one of the others seconded."About ten degrees to the left of that dead redthorn.""Okay, let's go," the leader said."Remember that this guy is dangerous, so if things get hot goahead and shoot to kill.Dennie, get some other teams moving across into our sector and alert airsupport.Warn 'em to hang back, though we don't want to spook him.Cham, you'll stay here in casehe gets past us.Okay, move out."Secure behind his tree, Jensen watched as four of the five disappeared into the brush.The trickhad still been worth a try, he decided.Possibly he'd even gained on the exchange: though Securitynow had a fair idea of his location, Jensen had learned in turn that they were so eager to get him thatthey were including inexperienced city men in their patrols.Interesting, too, was the fact that theyknew he was alone.The guard, Cham, found some mossy-looking stuff next to a large boulder and sat down stiffly,giving Jensen a good profile view as he rested his snub-nosed rifle butt-down on the ground betweenhis knees.Moving aside the thin wire-mike that extended from his helmet, he turned a knob near itsconnection point all the way over.Leaning his head against the boulder, he closed his eyes.Jensen eyed him thoughtfully, wondering what he had just done.Had he turned his intrasquadradio down, so he could sleep without the others hearing any snoring, or had he turned the radio up sothat they would hear the sound of a weapon if he was ambushed? Probably the latter, Jensendecided which implied, in turn, a very cautious soldier, since Jensen was supposedly a good distanceaway.Grimacing, Jensen settled down to watch for an opening.The minutes ticked by slowly.The guard's eyes remained closed, but his breathing indicated hewasn't asleep.Around them the mountainside was silent except for various insectean sounds; nothingbut occasional birds crossed the sky above them.But Jensen knew the isolation was largely illusory,and that if the alarm went off the sky and landscape would fill up with remarkable speed.Patience is avirtue, he told himself, and continued watching.But finally he could wait no longer.The rest of the patrol should be halfway to the hanging lens,and he would need at least a few minutes to get through the gap before they discovered the trick andwhistled for reinforcements.To make his own opening was dangerous, but he had no other choice.Picking up a stone, he fitted it into his slingshot and lobbed it into a patch of reedy-looking grassfifteen meters upslope.It landed with a completely satisfactory chunksh.The guard came alert instantly, swinging his rifle to the direction of the sound with one handaaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rwhile adjusting the position and volume of his mike with the other."Cham here," he said softly."I heard something in the hill-rushes near me.I'm going to investigate."Warily, he stood up, rifle held waist-high and swinging in a gentle arc.Jensen watched as heapproached the knee-high grass cautiously, head moving slightly as he scanned the area.At the edgehe stood for a moment, then suddenly fired three shots into different parts of the patch.Nothinghappened, and after a moment he turned back."Must've been an animal," Jensen heard him say as heheaded back to his boulder.The response wasn't audible, but Cham smiled tightly."Sure, but whoknows how fast these blackcollars can travel?.You too."With one last look around, Cham sat back down on his moss.Pushing his mike to the side again,he reached for the volume controlAnd the stone from Jensen's slingshot caught him full force in the side of his throat.He slumped, his hand falling limply to his side, and in seconds Jensen was beside him.Carefullyremoving the helmet, he held it like a sea shell to his ear [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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